2012 Charity Classic

This Friday there was 2012 Charity Classic – a traditional event the City Club of Washington, DC has each year – and one of the most popular ones. We went with Ken and our friend Lisa, who is also an attorney. She does what I could never even figure out – tax law. I admire her for it :). In law school, I barely passed the exam. I think professor gave me a “C” just because he felt sorry for me – or maybe because he really didn’t want to see me again :). Anyway, I’m not a tax expert and never going to be :). Lisa also goes to jewelry school; she is a very creative person. She has the most inventive business cards I’ve ever seen!

City Club is very beautiful, especially after the recent renovation. It’s located in the Columbia Square building in DC. With Ken, we’re members; Ken has been a member for over 10 years. He’s a very persistent guy

At the Charity Classic, there is always a silent auction, proceeds from which benefit SOME (So Others Might Eat) and a few other charity organizations in DC. We donated a few of our products to the auction, of course; we traditionally do so every year. This year it was “Candles” wall clock and “Little Candle” necklace from our new “I See The Light” Series – see the pictures. There was some bidding battle over them, and they both sold, which we were glad about.

To Ken and me, the reason for donating isn’t the only acquired publicity, increased traffic, and general brand recognition. In other words, we participate not solely for the sake of marketing. We actually do support the cause. As much as I hate to sell charity cookies, I actually was selling them for SOME while at Georgetown University.

There were quite a few times in my life, when I didn’t have anything to eat and was hungry. And it feels really lousy to be hungry and not being able to afford food. First off, it makes you very weak and causes you pain. You feel cold and dizzy all the time, have terrible headache, your vision and hearing worsen significantly, and your reactions slow down a lot. Because of all that, you are much more prone to become a victim of various accidents – because you are disoriented and your brain hardly works. I don’t want other people, especially children, to feel like this, that’s why we donate to the auction and do other things we can.

As I prefer to do charity personally, I am always saddened when I come across countless middlemen [read – leaches] in this area. For instance, every time we go to a Whole Foods store, we are asked to make a donation to some foundation we’ve never ever heard of. I find this to be completely inappropriate. Whole Foods is a grocery store, so why don’t they do just that – sell groceries?.. Besides, I don’t know which part of my donation would actually achieve the needy, and I do believe that Whole Foods‘ Board will do just fine without my money, as they’ve got a lot of their own. When we have an excess food, we always take it to the local soup kitchens. I know the cooks there, they are honest people and give the food to the hungry.

What causes do you support? Let me know in the comments.

And by all means, if there is ever a chance for you to visit the City Club, I do recommend you to do so. It’s quite lovely!

All City Club pictures are from the Club’s website: http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/The-City-Club-of-Washington